Um, how the heck is it almost JULY? I hope you all have a lovely 4th of July. I think I need to start reading more blogs, I never feel like I have enough links in here. I guess 5 is better than zero! Here you go!
These sound intriguing...Eylure false eyelashes. Beauty Bets claims they are the easiest ever, which is good because I am a total failure at applying false eyelashes. They sell them at Ulta (looking at you, Coco, you know you want to try them out!)
Absolutely nothing to do with beauty, but basil is my fav herb and I never know how to make it last. Now I do, thanks to Bon Appetit blog.
Oh shuuuttt uppppp Mad Men + Banana Republic? Can't wait!!
Interesting. What a professional styler has in her work bag. Woulda never guessed anything other than the fashion tape.
A few tips from Already Pretty about how organizing your wardrobe can help you figure out your style. I recently organized my clothes and shoes by color, then by type. I kid you not my life is changed. Shopping is so. much. easier. now, and I rarely buy things that I do not need or won't wear anymore.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
John Freida: 3 day straight
I recently purchased the Allure Summer beauty box, and one of the products was John Frieda 3-day straight spray. I have been wanting to try this since it came out; all of the reviews in Allure and Lucky have been stellar. The Allure editors used the word "shocking" to describe it, so I knew it must be pretty different than other straightening products.
And let me tell you, it is certainly badA. I can get my hair stick straight, but it takes a good deal of flat ironing in very small sections, which after time can be damaging. I have tried different smoothing products, and they work well but they do not last longer than a day. This stuff? It's unreal.
Let's go through my collage below, shall we? Let me go ahead and note that the instructions state clearly that this is designed for use with the flat iron, so you will not get 3 days of straight hair without the flat iron. Also, they mention you may have to touch up on day 2 and 3, and that if you shower, obviously the effects are gone. This is not a permanent styling like Keratin treatments, etc (which I'm starting to hear that Brazilian stuff is REALLY bad for you, so any of you doing it might want to research and/or stop doing it). Anyway, continuing on...so as you can see, right out of the shower my hair is pretty messy and wavy. The instructions recommend 7-15 sprays, so I started on the low end with about 7 or 8. I think I could have/should have done more, but 8 still did the job. Following blow dry, it was actually pretty straight. Usually it is much wavier at this point. Then came the flat iron; day one flat iron was probably the straightest I've gotten my hair outside of a salon. I didn't have to go over pieces over and over either, just one swipe did the job. If you have curlier/coarser hair, you may have to go in smaller sections, but you still shouldn't have to run over each section numerous times.
Day 2, right out of bed I had some flips and curves around the bottom of my hair, but this is much, MUCH straighter than my hair normally is right from bed. Usually it looks like a messy rat nest, to be honest. I added a little dry shampoo to my bangs because they have a tendency to get oily, and then touched up the bottom with the iron. I didn't have to do anything to the back. Again, the instructions note that you may have touch-ups, so my experience was normal. You can see in the pics that it definitely returned day 1 condition on day 2. It stayed like this all day, and I went out IN THE RAIN folks. Full on 95 degree 100% humidity Baton Rouge, and my hair stayed straight as a board. Unreal. Then I went to yoga class, where the A/C was apparently broken, and I proceeded to sweat my butt off. I wanted to see how it really held up for 3 days, so I took a shower with a shower cap to avoid wetting my hair. Day 3 (today) I'm in a ponytail, mostly because my roots are just too oily and dirty for dry shampoo to help. But do you see my ponytail? SO STRAIGHT! And there is NO frizz in my hair. Not a bit. I'm very pleased with this product. I think that if I had even longer hair, it would be even better!!
Now for the potential downsides. I'm not sure how well this would work on shorter hair. I think it's designed for medium and long hair. As you can see, I have medium length hair, so it worked well. Also, for people prone to oily hair, you might not make day 3. As I mentioned, I wouldn't have made it, even if I had skipped yoga on day 2.
In general the positives greatly outweigh the negatives, and it's only $9.99 at drugstores. I HIGHLY recommend!
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| www.drugstore.com |
Let's go through my collage below, shall we? Let me go ahead and note that the instructions state clearly that this is designed for use with the flat iron, so you will not get 3 days of straight hair without the flat iron. Also, they mention you may have to touch up on day 2 and 3, and that if you shower, obviously the effects are gone. This is not a permanent styling like Keratin treatments, etc (which I'm starting to hear that Brazilian stuff is REALLY bad for you, so any of you doing it might want to research and/or stop doing it). Anyway, continuing on...so as you can see, right out of the shower my hair is pretty messy and wavy. The instructions recommend 7-15 sprays, so I started on the low end with about 7 or 8. I think I could have/should have done more, but 8 still did the job. Following blow dry, it was actually pretty straight. Usually it is much wavier at this point. Then came the flat iron; day one flat iron was probably the straightest I've gotten my hair outside of a salon. I didn't have to go over pieces over and over either, just one swipe did the job. If you have curlier/coarser hair, you may have to go in smaller sections, but you still shouldn't have to run over each section numerous times.
Now for the potential downsides. I'm not sure how well this would work on shorter hair. I think it's designed for medium and long hair. As you can see, I have medium length hair, so it worked well. Also, for people prone to oily hair, you might not make day 3. As I mentioned, I wouldn't have made it, even if I had skipped yoga on day 2.
In general the positives greatly outweigh the negatives, and it's only $9.99 at drugstores. I HIGHLY recommend!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tuesday....review!
The links were kinda dull this week, so I am going to review a product instead: L'Oreal EverPure Moisture Deep Restorative Masque.
I bought this a few weeks ago for two reasons: 1) I had just dyed my hair a lighter shade of blond for the summer, so needed a protective product and 2) it's summer, and the sun wreaks havoc on my hair. I already use the EverPure line of shampoo and conditioner (LOVE IT), so I felt certain this product would not disappoint. I was right! It's like body butter for your hair...super thick and straight up luxurious. The rosemary mint smells great, even T (the husband) likes it. I don't recommend using it too often unless you have extremely dry hair though or your hair might get weighed down. I use it about once every two weeks, concentrating on the ends, and it leaves my hair silky smooth. My sweet 4 year-old nephew visited this weekend, and at one point I bent down to help him tie his shoe...he touched my hair and said "Aunt Court-court, your hair is so soft" If that's not a seal of approval folks, I don't know what is!
You can find this at any drugstore. I bought it at Walgreens (I think) for $8.99.
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| Photo: www.lorealparisusa.com |
You can find this at any drugstore. I bought it at Walgreens (I think) for $8.99.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Changes coming to sunscreen labels!
Hi all! In case you've missed it on the news this week, the FDA will be rolling out some mandatory changes to sunscreen labels beginning in 2012. So why am I bringing it up now? Well, because some of the information is good to know ahead of time and all the time. The short version of the story is this: Manufacturers will now have make their labels much clearer as to what the ingredients are and what the product will do, making them more like an over-the-counter medication than a cosmetic item. The biggest changes are:
1. No more words like "waterproof" or "sweatproof" because that was kind of a marketing gimmick to begin with. If you swim, exercise/sweat, surf, whatever you have to reapply. Period. There will be instructions on when to re-apply on the label as well.
2. Only SPF 15 and above, broad spectrum (UVA and UVB protection) can claim to prevent skin cancer. Everything else will say "prevent sunburn" or something similar.
Again, this won't take effect until next summer, but these things are good to know right now.
This article from Boing Boing on 4 things you didn't know about sunscreen is excellent, I highly recommend giving it a read.
Also, here's a video link to the Today show where they discuss the changes.
1. No more words like "waterproof" or "sweatproof" because that was kind of a marketing gimmick to begin with. If you swim, exercise/sweat, surf, whatever you have to reapply. Period. There will be instructions on when to re-apply on the label as well.
2. Only SPF 15 and above, broad spectrum (UVA and UVB protection) can claim to prevent skin cancer. Everything else will say "prevent sunburn" or something similar.
Again, this won't take effect until next summer, but these things are good to know right now.
This article from Boing Boing on 4 things you didn't know about sunscreen is excellent, I highly recommend giving it a read.
Also, here's a video link to the Today show where they discuss the changes.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Link it up
Not much interesting this week, but here are a few fun things to browse! I got my Allure beauty box in the mail last week, so be on the lookout for new product reviews coming soon!
Elizabeth at Beauty Bets shows how to get rid of self-tanner streaks. Would have NEVER thought of this. Do as she says though and avoid your face...
Glamour mag's slideshow on 11 hot celeb haircuts and correspondingly, 10 ideas for summer hair.
Allure's list of drugstore beauty bargains. I'm a drugstore product junkie, I've tried a number of these. The Goody style pins are basically life altering, Sonia Kashuk brushes really are GREAT quality, and the Freeman avocado mask is also stellar. So, it's a good list! Also, they have a good post on how to nab deals, but still get good quality, on beauty products when retailers put things on clearance
Also from Allure, I'm loving these half-up hairstyles! (It must be the week of hair links, I'm finding them all over the web!)
Nothing to do with beauty, but Little Green Notebook has made me want to paint a door yellow. Here first posts on the process are here and here.
That's about it for today...work calls!
Elizabeth at Beauty Bets shows how to get rid of self-tanner streaks. Would have NEVER thought of this. Do as she says though and avoid your face...
Glamour mag's slideshow on 11 hot celeb haircuts and correspondingly, 10 ideas for summer hair.
Allure's list of drugstore beauty bargains. I'm a drugstore product junkie, I've tried a number of these. The Goody style pins are basically life altering, Sonia Kashuk brushes really are GREAT quality, and the Freeman avocado mask is also stellar. So, it's a good list! Also, they have a good post on how to nab deals, but still get good quality, on beauty products when retailers put things on clearance
Also from Allure, I'm loving these half-up hairstyles! (It must be the week of hair links, I'm finding them all over the web!)
Nothing to do with beauty, but Little Green Notebook has made me want to paint a door yellow. Here first posts on the process are here and here.
That's about it for today...work calls!
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